Why a Liberal Arts Degree is Better to Have Than Ever

In a day and age where STEM fields are the most lucrative jobs to go into, Liberal Arts fields tend to be stigmatized for not having a lot of jobs. I’m here to dispel this myth and explain why it’s actually amazing to have a Liberal Arts degree!

The concepts, ideas, and skills you learn in your Liberal Arts classes are what employers are looking for and not finding with other majors!

Analytical thinking is a skill that Liberal Arts majors know how to do so well. A New York Times article stated that, “the competencies that liberal arts majors emphasize — writing, synthesis, problem solving — are sought after by employers. A 2017 study by David J. Deming, an associate professor of education and economics at Harvard, found jobs requiring both the so-called soft skills and thinking skills have seen the largest growth in employment and pay in the last three decades.” This is great news!

Maybe in the past the salaries of Liberal Arts majors were low, but now they are increasing tremendously!

Andy Anderegg graduated with an English degree and went on to get her Master’s in Fine Arts. Her first job was at Groupon where she started off making $33,000 in 2010. However, she ended up rising up the ranks and now she makes well over $100,000 in 2016 (Wall Street Journal).

A LinkedIn study showed that over HALF of the top twenty highest paying fields were Liberal Arts majors. Some of these majors included, Visual Art, Sociology, Journalism, and History!

There are MANY jobs for Liberal Arts majors because our field is so diverse and we can do SO much with what we learned in school.

Many companies are seeking out Liberal Arts majors like English and History. For History, a Forbes article cited that “career options for history majors include intelligence analyst, management consultant, research analyst, and patient services rep.” Meanwhile, “The top positions for English majors include writer/editor, communication specialist, marketing coordinator, and sales manager.”

These jobs aren’t just your run of the mill office jobs. Companies that are currently hiring English and History majors include, United Healthcare, Oracle, Amazon, and the National Parks Service (Forbes).

So before your parents or your friends tell you that your useless English, History, Religion, Sociology, etc, degree isn’t going to get you a job, show them my article! Better yet, don’t feed into stigma and do your own research on a major that may have a bad rep. You may be pleasantly surprised in what you find out!